Strands of Insomnia
by Androgynous Angel
Summary: Insomnia was once cherished gift, but now it seems it can't keep the Nightmares away. L should have really kept an Ace up his sleeve. LightxL WARNING: Will contain OC's, OOCness, and shounen-ai.
1. Golden Eyes

**GAAAAHH! Unless you're one of my readers, you probably don't know how much trouble this story has caused me. Not only do I LOVE this story, but it caused me writers block in all of my others. Oh, joy. However, you get a new story, which I think I over did a bit, but it's your opinion that masters. This will lead to LxLight, eventually, but for now, you get a half-assed over 2,000 word/almost 6 pages long chapter. God damn it.**

**Disclaimer: This is called FANFICTION for a reason. I'm only putting this up-and only once!- because I'm tired and dun want no bitchin.**

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan 12/9/2003 12:24AM_

Bright lights of an ever changing hue decorated the landscape of the never sleeping city. Though it was late, cars of every shape and size drove upon it's roads, some of the drivers and passengers consisting of many different people. There were people just finishing their long hours of work, not to start again until later the next day. Some were out partying, celebrating an event that everyone outside their world knew nothing about. Gasoline, garbage, and other typical city scents protruded every persons senses. But only one felt it the most.

Staring down at the city, he wondered just how much 'home' had changed. In all honesty, he hardly saw much at all, despite the amount of time he had gone off.

Seven years...

It had been far too long.

~.~

_Winchester, England 12/9/2003 8:24AM _

Darkness, a familiarity he was surrounded by. Shadows of an unknown substance danced on the wall, for the only source of light was from a small, white laptop in the center. This was the laptop he always used for his duties. Or, more correctly, his 'hobby' of sorts. Files of many cases laid untouched, however. Even when his insomnia was at best, he only failed to concentrate. Only one file, one completely unrelated to his work, had caught his attention.

He laid out a deck of cards.

One by one, he organized the deck until each card matched. Then, he laid them in order of power.

...2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,...

...Jack,...

...Queen,...

...King,...

...Ace.

Sitting Indian style, for now, he looked down at the cards. More specifically, the last, and the most powerful card. The Ace. How a person could gain such a name, he was unsure of.

And yet, a person with a name(not even a real name, just an alias, really), yet no known face had been 'assisting' police agencies worldwide within a matter of eleven months. Of course, capturing world famous criminals must be helpful, correct?

Under a year ago, a person completely of the unknown started capturing criminals and leaving them on the roofs of the police agency, leaving no trace of his person except of a letter containing all information relating to the captured criminal, along with the location of his or her hide out, and a small card. An ace of hearts, to be exact.

Thus, he was dubbed Ace.

When Ace made his sudden 'appearance', many world leaders were frightened of his seemingly omnipresent status. With no trace, no forensic evidence, absolutely _nothing _to prove of his existence except the letters, many tried to send police officers to search for this person. However, as days dragged onto months, they became less frightened and, at this point, started considering him a help.

He, the one sitting in the dark room, was nothing more than intrigued, and this feeling had not wilted since Ace's coming. However, he was rather frustrated. No matter where he looked, he couldn't see any sort of pattern with the criminals. It seemed they were picked at random, than captured in groups or separately. He looked at the cities the criminals were captured in...

...Beijing, Seóul, Buenos Aires, Calcutta, Los Angeles...

...

He suddenly pulled up a web page, searching up 'World Wide City Populations'. There, he found a list.

...Beijing, Seóul, Buenos Aires, Calcutta, Los Angeles...

This was the pattern. Every month, Ace would change the city, each one higher in population. He had hit all of the top twelve...

...except Tokyo, Japan.

Taking his cell phone out of his pocket hastily, he snapped it on and speed dialed one, impatiently waiting for his call to be reached. There was a click.

"Yes?" A deep, old voice, laced with a british accent came out of the speakers.

"Watari, can you please book a flight to Tokyo, Japan?"

"May I ask why?"

"Let us just say I am going to take a... vacation of sorts," He wasn't working on a real case, anyway.

"Alright, master L."

L snapped the phone shut.

~.~

_Tokyo, Japan 12/18/2003 12:29PM_

Frankly, he was rather disappointed. No, he wasn't just disappointed. He was also upset, frustrated, miffed, dismayed, and basically every other synonym for disappointed. Never before in his life that he had so much trouble. Not even the time when he attempted to restrict Mello's chocolate supply. Yes, he found this more infuriating than that, and everyone who knows Mello knows how much of a brat he is.

For nine days-_seriously, nine days?-_L had been trying to spot Ace through a number of cameras set up at each police station. Even with at least 64 cameras per station, Ace had somehow found a blind spot to place the criminals. It seem Ace expected-no-_knew _of the camera's appearance. Out of all the things that L really discovered, it was that Ace was a lot smarter than he let on about. Of course, that wasn't the only discovery L came across. Apparently, he dropped the criminals off at exactly midnight, no earlier, nor later. How he managed to do that was beyond L's comprehension.

At least now L knew when he could hide out in case he decided to spot Ace personally. All L had to do was convince Watari. He tried to sneak out once, but Watari eyes were that of a hawk...

None the less, even with new found info, he still wasn't feeling on top. Though, since Watari suggested it, L decided to head out to a small cafe. Apparently, they not only had coffee, but plenty of pastries-_YES! Cake, cake, cake_-on stock.

Once inside the cafe, he sat down at a private window seat, so as to stray away from onlookers, and ordered a strawberry shortcake("Sir, are you sure you mean a _slice _of cake?" "No, I most certainly asked for a strawberry shortcake."). Unfortunately, the waitress said he would have to wait awhile. Maybe he should have just asked Watari...

In his moment of boredom, he observed his surroundings. It really was a typical cafe, colored with brown and tan hues. Truly, nothing really stood out- whoa, who was that?

A young teen, no more than seventeen, sat just a seat away from L, all of his features from torso upward in plain view. His black, mussy hair perfectly framed his face. He wore a simple, light collar shirt, and a white t-shirt under it. His skin was tanned, which was odd, considering it was still winter. His coat was laid out on his seat. However, even with his handsome features, nothing caught L's eye than two seemingly minor details.

The boy was wearing an obviously ancient pendant. It was rather dirty and rusted, so much that the designs on the front had almost faded. In fact, L almost missed it. Even then, he just couldn't make out the lines.

It didn't stop there, of course. He knew that it could cause the teen's attention to shift from the menu to the older male, but L couldn't tear his own eyes from the boys. Most would say the teen's eyes were honey brown, or maybe hazel, but L knew better. His eyes, for sure, were the brightest golden color L had ever seen in his life. The youth's eyes seemed to dance, like a small, but glimmering fire.

L brushed a finger against his lips. There was no way the young man was wearing contacts, they were never that bright, not to mention the teen was wearing glasses. Why wear glasses and contacts at the same time?

Without warning, the youth's head snapped up, staring straight at L. Within as little as a few seconds, L felt a heavy, almost omnipresent fog flow through the cafe. It was everywhere, and seemed to crowd him in, but he held on confidently. Apparently, though, only L, and maybe the teen felt the surrounding air. Then again, L had his suspicions that the youth was the cause of it. None the less, he wouldn't allow such a thing to pressure him.

Thankfully, two waitresses, one with his cake and another to take the teen's order, came along and broke the increasing tension between the two males. He took the cake and began eating, however, L did catch the other man's expression. A slight look of disgust, obviously from the cake, but he also appeared to be glaring at the older man. L could assume that the teen was angry at his staring, but somehow that just didn't seem to fit.

L would never guess that the young, golden eyed male was just as intrigued.

~.~

_Tokyo, Japan 12/27/2003 3:42AM_

L couldn't believe his eyes. Nine days later, after the Golden Youth Incident (as he had taken to calling it), he had finally managed to spot somebody who could have been Ace. Of course it didn't show, but he was ecstatic, elated, joyful, blissful-

-He really needed to stop memorizing the thesaurus in his spare time.

OK, back to the subject- Ace. At exactly 12:00PM, December 26th (technically, the 27th), L spotted a shadow. After much focus, the shadow turned out to be a dark cloak- so dark that it was mistaken for an actual shadow. Apparently he had used both the cloak and possibly dark clothing to mask himself as such. Rewinding the other tapes, he noticed that the same shadow was there. It really was a notable discovery.

However, there was something he just didn't get. He didn't notice this shadow before today, and L was sure that shadow didn't even exist when the recording began. But now, all of the tapes had that cloak in view. Had Ace made some sort of optical illusion? If so, why did he only see it now? L replayed the tape again and again, just waiting for something to give...!

A oval-like shape floated in mid air, just a ways away from the cloak. However, when he zoomed in, he saw a small chain connecting the shape and the cloak. L's mind flashed to the young man at the cafe...

Could the golden eyed boy and this person-possibly Ace- be one and the same? There was only one way to find out.

L began setting up a plan.

~.~

_Tokyo, Japan 12/31/2003 11:46PM_

Slinking through the darkness, L turned a left to reach the elevator. He pushed the elevator button, shuffling his feet together impatiently. When the door finally opened, he moved inside and pressed another button. Soon, he would be on the roof, waiting patiently for Ace's appearance. He was risking his life, his entire career, for just a glimpse at the mysterious man.

And it was all on a whim, pretty much.

It took a lot of convincing, but with a bullet proof vest and plenty of weapons, all hidden under the black pea-coat he wore, Watari allowed L to go onto the roof of the police station to have a real life look at Ace. This time there were no cameras, except for the small one peeping from the pea coats pocket. As soon he reached on the roof-_11:51PM_-he hid behind a group of boxes that gave him full view of the area Ace always placed his captured criminals without revealing L's own hiding spot from any angle. Unless Ace is even smarter than he knew, L's plan was sure to not fail. Hopefully...

...After all, he had no idea what he was going to do once he saw Ace. If he managed to see Ace's face, and it turned out that Golden Youth and Ace were one and the same, he might be able to find him and confront him at his next target point. The only flaw was Ace's location. Tokyo was the most populated city globally, so the only way for L to track Ace down was to wait for more criminals to be captured. But that would take days, and personally, L didn't feel like waiting. In other words, he was going to completely wing it, if he did confront Ace tonight...

Speaking of which, he should be arriving in just a minute...

~.~

_11:55PM_

He couldn't believe the nerve of this guy...

This man was quite a sight. Donned with an obsidian pea coat, which fairly matched both his atrociously messy hair and dark eyes, plus those disgusting jeans and shoes... this man was a walking riot! Well, not really, but he sure as hell stood out, no matter where he was. It was obvious who he was waiting for, especially since he kept checking his watch. He must have been incredibly intelligent, not to mention have plenty of resources, if he managed to figure out the other's pattern.

_11:57PM_

Tonight, this 'other' had finished his rounds. It was his final day, and he always caught a more minor criminal on this day, although most people didn't notice. He wondered if this man noticed, but he doubted it. Intelligence had it's limits, truth be told. Although, this man was quite interesting. It's not everyday you have to avoid 64 cameras, even if he had is gift to back it.

'Tch, some gift it is,' thought the man. He checked his watch.

_11:59PM_

It's show time.

~.~

Just a minute away, L told himself...

Surprisingly and not surprisingly, it was L's longest minute of his life. But that didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was the ticking clock. He had no idea that another was thinking the same thing.

'Tch, screw it.'

L suddenly jolted his head from his watch. He heard a large thud, only to recognize it as a middle-aged man, most likely a criminal. But it was 11:59:58, there was no way...

..unless...

_12:00AM, 01/01/2004_

"Well, well, I didn't expect a one on one confrontation with my eavesdropper, but I guess it just makes it all the better."

L jumped up, only to see a dark cloaked figure, and the brightest golden eyes he had ever seen piercing right at him.


	2. The Little Things

_Recap:_

12:00AM, 01/01/2004

"_Well, well, I didn't expect a one on one confrontation with my eavesdropper, but I guess it just makes it all the better."_

_L jumped up, only to see a dark cloaked figure, and the brightest golden eyes he had ever seen piercing right at him._

~.~

Wide-eyed and surprised, L stared directly at the youth, a complete omnipresence washing over him like an ocean's tide over a beach. He felt himself slowly suffocating, cracking ever so slightly under the sudden pressure. It didn't show on the outside.

He was sure who this person was. Not just the identity of his alias, but his real identity. He knew...

"I did not expect such a meeting with the one and only Ace, as well, but at least it confirms my suspicions," Ace showed a momentary look of surprise. It only lasted a second, but L caught it, so he smirked. Glaring, Ace sneered right back at the older man. The pressuring fog grew darker.

"It's nice to know somebody can actually put the pieces together. It's too bad you won't remember it," Before L could question him, Ace snapped his wrist, causing a bright light to slowly emerge from L's forehead. L was completely immobilized, but within his mind, he was becoming more distraught by the second. There was no way that something such as this was possible! L looked at the light, not only to see it splitting into five strands, but towards _Ace's fingers._ He tried to move, tried to stimulate his body, but it was no use.

In his frenzy, L did not notice Ace's face, nor that it was a face of shock and frustration.

He didn't see that face contort into sympathy, nor did L notice the other when he collapsed onto the ground. But when he finally looked up, eye sight flickering in and out, the only thing he noticed was the color of sweet, brown honey and the sudden shudder and final boom of his heart before darkness claimed it's child once more.

When Watari entered the roof five minutes later, the only evidence of both L's and Ace's existence was

~.~

He felt warm. That was the first thing he noticed. Warm. At ease. Content. That was all he could describe this feeling. When the wind caught his attention, gliding delicately through his hair, he felt he was higher than any cloud, maybe even cloud nine. He could hear soft _whaps_, almost carrying a beat, creating heavenly music with the whistling of the wind. He just wanted to go to sleep, on top of this warm source of heat.

_Wait...on top...?_

L snapped his eyes open, only to shut them from stinging pain. He, and whoever he was on top of, were moving at an incredibly fast pace. So fast, in fact, that anything that he did see was just a blur of colors. He saw mostly green and brown, so he assumed he was in a forest. _It would explain that sound earlier,_ he thought, referring to the _whap _on what he assumed was wood.

Without realizing it, or hearing it himself, he groaned. There was no doubt in his mind that Ace had kidnapped him. Why, he honestly had no idea. His best guess was that he didn't want anybody knowing about him.

Then he remembered. The bright lights, the strands, and his own, immediate exhaustion. He kept trying to tell himself that it wasn't real, that it was a dream? _Then explain why _this _is happening?_

That little voice was right. What happened last night was the only explanation on today's events. No matter how unlikely or downright impossible it was, it happened, whether he liked it or not.

Before he could comprehend more, he felt Ace take a sudden jump downwards. The wind was whistling even louder now as they descended, his grip on the other tightening ten-fold. It didn't matter how big the jump was- at the speed he was going, there was no way they would make it safely.

_Pat._ They had stopped. The force of the stop was recognizable, but it was so soft L almost missed it. He opened his eyes and looked around, blinking a few times at what he saw. They were in a small clearing, which was definitely within a forest of pine trees. It was still dark out, so it was either really early in the morning or late the next night, most likely the former than the latter.

"You're awake, right? Don't try faking, I can tell," Pulled out of his thoughts, L looked towards his kidnapper. His face was generally blank, but his brown-_warm, honey brown_- eyes were wide with subtle curiosity. His skin had turned into a more peach colored tone, though his cheeks were a rather rosy red. And his hair turned from black to _brown_, though it was more of a chestnut than a honey brown. How could a single teenager change in a single night? If he assumed that Ace carried him all night, then there must have been no time to change wigs or anything...

Ace chuckled as a sheepish smile covered his face. "I guess you've noticed the changes in my physical appearance," he said,"I promise to tell you once we're home. Don't worry, we're almost out of the forest." Ace pulled a bright, rather impressing smile, but it only further annoyed the detective.

"Wait a minute." "shouted" L, though it came out in a monotonous whisper, like usual,"What do you mean by home? And where are we going?"

"We're heading to Winchester, England. Oh, and I should mention this, but you're going to be my apprentice from now on," Ace replied cheekily.

"_Apprentice?_ What is going on in your mind? You do know that you are not only younger than me, but you're also my kidnapper, correct?" He had started running again before jumping into the trees. However, Ace was moving slower than earlier, allowing the two to banter some more.

"You should be glad that I'm even wasting my time on you. If I had left you there, you wouldn't have been able to develop your powers. You would lose them, in fact! Kami...," he started muttering about other apprentices, but L wasn't paying attention.

"Powers?" he mumbled. What was he talking about? Was he implying that L could do what Ace could?

"Yes, powers. Look, I'll explain everything as soon as we get there, okay? Put your head down now. We're nearing a town." L wanted to protest, to figure out more, and to get off of the bastard, but something told him it would be better to do as he said. The ebony haired man groaned again. It just wasn't his day today...

L would have wondered why he was reacting so emotionally to Ace, but that question was left for later as he fell asleep again.

_~One hour later~_

"Oi, wake up. We're here now." Agh, just give him five more minutes, Watari...

"Hmm? Going back to sleep? Too bad then. I guess I'll just drop you."

"No!" Suddenly awake, L latched tightly on the youth's neck as he felt the hold on his thighs slack. Melodious laughter rang at his words, slipping out of Ace's mouth.

"Geez, and I thought you were emotionless. I guess this and earlier are proof enough, Ha Ha~!" Ace declared, a childish smile spreading on his face. God, why he...

"This is not a situation to laugh at. Not only have I just been kidnapped by someone who knows how to disguise himself with ease, but he has also threatened to drop me onto the ground, where I could possibly get a concussion from the impact. I don't believe that is a very funny situation, " L deadpanned, glaring at the teen. No one was going to laugh at him!

But all he got was a sneer. "Well~," he started,"I would have put you on a bed and waited for you to return to the world of the living, but knowing the others, they would have dumped ice on you or something to greet you," L raised an eyebrow.

"Others? And can you put me down now?" Damn it, his second question didn't sound like a demand.

"Yes, there are others. I'm currently housing three genius teenagers, a psychopath who almost got away with murder, and a ditzy blonde chick. Interesting house I have, nee?" Super Charming and Dazzling Smile, meet Super Shocked and Horrified Stare. Nice to know that you're acquainted now. "And yes, you can get off now Princess."

L ignored that last comment. There was no point at getting more upset, especially since the teen had already seen way too much emotion for the elder's liking. Lightly frowning, he hopped off and brushed his coat. He would have checked the camera, but he had a feeling that it was gone already. Like he could, not with the mops of white, red, and blonde rushing out of the front door.

_What?_

"Ace-sama!" "Ace-niisama!" "Holy shit, it's ACE!" Next thing he knew, his kidnapper was tackled to the ground by those earlier blurs of colors. Very _familiar _blurs, to be exact.

Then again, they weren't familiar blurs. They were familiar kids. To be more exact, it was Near, Matt, and Mello. First, he's kidnapped not only him, but he's somehow gained the respect of his successors?

It wasn't just respect though. They were on the ground, getting incredibly dirty whilst rough housing each other. Matt looked as if it was his birthday as he hugged Ace from behind, holding the elder's arms back, the younger boy's delighted grin spreading his features. Mello was grinning devilishly at the older teen, his ice blue eyes sparkling as he straddled Ace. Near was laying on his stomach, one hand twirling his hair as the other prodded Ace's cheek. Ace himself was grinning playfully as he played the part of the irked but amused master.

"Ha ha! Look at this!" Mello observed his teacher, looking him up and down to make sure there was no way Ace could flip him over,"How does it feel like to get dominated by your student, hmm?"

"Not saying I'm enjoying it, gaki," Ace retorted, sneering at the blonde, "Though I have to say your starting to act more and more like a cat. First meowing while yawning, now pouncing the prey? Never knew you were such a feline!"

"Oh shut it. Hey, Near! Stop prodding his ugly face and grab my cell phone! It's in my back pocket. There's no way we're not getting a picture!" Near smirked and quickly snagged Mello's cell phone so he could take the snapshot.

Naturally, Near got a few snapshots in before Ace managed to wrestle his way out of the other boy's grips. Of course, Matt and Mello didn't give up. They kept pouncing and leaping on the poor, elder teen as if he was cat nip, all while Near was making sure that he took every single embarrassing photo.

During this whole time, L felt some sort of thing, some kind of lump, developing in his throat. Something fell in his chest-his heart, maybe?- while he watched. The boys were so carefree, and so light hearted. In fact, he hadn't seen them since last year.

And last year was when Ace begun his criminal hunting.

They even looked different from last year. Mello's wardrobe was as black as ever, but now the fourteen year old was wearing leather. Donned in leather pants and heeled boots on his lower half, he also wore a black tank top and a leather jacket. The jacket itself was rather detailed; the sleeves had been ripped off, had a hood attached, and was covered in diagonal zippers that only served as a design. He even wore leather biker gloves and pulled his hair up in a ponytail with a black ribbon. L could clearly see his crucifix, which had been hidden all the time the year before. L only knew of it's existence because he had seen Mello fiddling with it occasionally. And when L looked at Mello's eyes, he no longer saw that mean, vicious look ; it was replaced with a, albeit devilish, playful gaze.

Matt had changed too. Apparently, he threw out his old striped shirt and replaced it with a green mushroom shirt from the Mario games and added a furry jacket to it. This had a hoody also, and instead of buttons, it had little knobs that were connected to the other side of the jacket with string. This jacket was sleeveless, too. He had kept his baggy jeans, but traded his boots for green converse and his simple goggles to the aviator ones; he was actually wearing it on his head instead of over his eyes. Though, L noticed that he was wearing a black and white striped arm warmer, so he guessed that love didn't change much. Matt seemed to be more friendly and mischievous too; he didn't give off that 'I don't care, now shove it' vibe anymore.

And then there was Near, and out of them all, L had to say he changed the most. He obviously abandoned his pajamas and the whole 'completely white' concept entirely, though he still wore light colors. He wore a tan, collared, open shirt over a white tank top, light blue jeans, and little pink slippers covered his white socks. He even wore a light green scarf. Of course, the colors were so light it it was more like they were white with color tints. Personality wise, he had definitely took a left turn somewhere down the road. Near's once dull, grey eyes were suddenly full of life, even a small grin was spreading across his features. He wasn't like a robot at all. In fact, while his voice was still as controlled and even as ever, you could still sense the emotion in it if you knew what it was like before.

And that's why L was feeling so horrible all of a sudden. He was upset and angry at himself that he never heard note of these changes, and that he hadn't been there for it. He was, and hated to admit it, _jealous_ of Ace, for receiving this kind of attention from them. He was jealous because they had such a mutual respect and admiration for one another, while L had only a dysfunctional, make-shift family based on idolism and unhealthy rivalries. And he was jealous because...

...well, Ace did the one thing that L never could. And that was to heal their scars.

He had been able to crush the rivalry between Mello and Near, created a better relationship between the three, and made them smile a real smile. Near and Matt never smiled before, as Near was once monotonous and Matt just didn't care. And from L's memories, when Mello smiled, it was like a child being rewarded by someone. It wasn't a happiness that lasted.

So L just stood there. What could he do? He had half a mind to just walk away, but he suddenly didn't have the will power to do so. It didn't feel right standing there. It was as if he wasn't supposed to be there, as if he was just a stranger looking inside their world from his. So he just stood there, with that lump in his throat and his heart falling deep within his chest, staring blankly, but sullenly at the others little world.

And because of those strange and confusing feelings, it was rather unexpected when those eyes, dripped in sweet, brown honey, looked over at him. It surprised him to see a grin pass over the boys features, directed completely at him. L couldn't stop his heart from lifting up, only to thump loudly in his chest, if only once. He also couldn't stop his successors from following Ace's gaze and staring directly, in shock, at the world's greatest detective.

...

Well _shit_, it just wasn't his day, was it?


End file.
